The video which was posted to YouTube shows the unidentified soldier wearing his red tunic and bearskin, performing a variety of slow-motion silly walks a for onlooking tourists.

While marching outside the Palace, he first bends down to pick up something from the gravel forecourt which he puts in his pocket. The soldier then engages in a slow motion walk, freezes, and launches comical speed strut to the delight of watching tourists.

The Ministry of Defence, however, was not quite so amused.

A spokesman told the Daily Mail that an internal investigation had been launched and that “anyone who is found to fall short of the Army’s high standards can expect to face appropriate action”.